Urban Energy Efficiency in Brazil

Overview

Urban Energy Efficiency in Brazil is a subject composed by different areas, and two of them are: Energy Efficiency in Social Housing; and Energy Efficiency in Water Supply, described in this article by the achievements of ProEESA (Energy Efficiency Project in Water Supply Systems).

Energy efficiency in water supply

The water supply systems in Brazil represent an important consumer of electricity. In this sense, promoting energy efficiency for this sector means reducing significant greenhouse gases emissions, as well as facilitating the universalization of sanitation proposed for the country. In addition, the continuous increase in energy production costs demands from sanitation service providers an adequate energy management, so that their resources are applied properly, avoiding financial and energy losses. In this context of challenges, ProEESA (Energy Efficiency Project in Water Supply Systems) was created. ProEESA is a project financed by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented jointly by the Brazilian Ministry of Regional Development and GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit). The project works to improve the conditions for the implementation of measures for the rational use of electricity in water service providers, in order to take advantage of the potential for savings in supply systems, reducing electricity costs, energy consumption and losses of water. Over the years, ProEESA has worked in several areas contributing to energy efficiency in water supply, that will be explained in this article.

Capacity building in the sanitation sector

Courses and forums for sanitation service providers are very useful tools for capacity building in the sanitation sector. Thus, ProEESA was also active in the development of Learning Energy Efficiency Networks (LEEN) and e-learning videos and courses. The concept of Learning Energy Efficiency Networks (LEEN) emerged in the 1990s in Europe, being also applied by ProEESA to the sanitation sector in Brazil (see Learning Networks in Water and Energy Management). Between 2017 and 2021, seven LEEN were developed with regulated service providers and their responsible regulatory agencies, resulting in a very useful horizontal exchange of experiences moderated by a facilitating institution. All the covered topics are important for strengthening the implementation of energy efficiency and water loss management. E-learning is another field of action adopted by ProEESA in energy efficiency capacity building, which has developed a few self-guided courses on the subject, in addition to having a youtube channel where lectures and courses held in webinars promoted by the project are shared.

Energy efficiency measures in water supply sector - Interactive 3D-Urban Model for Gamification

Knowledge sharing is also a topic covered by ProEESA, which includes spreading the accumulated technical knowledge in a didactic way to reach all water utilities and regulators in Brazil. For this purpose, an Interactive 3D-Urban Model for Gamification with typical energy saving measures was created. The model comprises a city with a water supply system. When clicking on each component, it is possible to gather information about the associated efficiency measure, including its description, application and advantages. The model also carries files that include guides, tools, and methodologies developed by ProEESA, as well as youtube videos about each measure developed in webinars and learning networks. A playable version of the model was also developed, where the player is expected to choose the best energy efficiency measures for a city, considering limited budget, and contingencies that simulate real life.

Big data analytics for energy management in urban water supply

A major challenge for sanitation service providers in Brazil is the compilation of data from electricity bills. In this sense, ProEESA developed an algorithm to facilitate the compilation of this data, which consist of energy consumption and demand, financial values, fines, among others. The tool makes it possible to optimize the energy efficiency management through an automatic analysis, mainly aiming at a monetary reduction of the values of the electricity bills. The assessment results could be easily up scaled at state level where water service providers are served by the same energy company.

Big data analytics for fraud detection and Big Data Training Course

Machine learning and artificial intelligence tools are deployed on commercial databases in order to improve fraud and irregularities detection in water consumption. Its reduction is a contribution to diminish inequalities amongst citizens and to increase a more sustainable deployment of natural resources such as water and energy. Considering the importance of big data for the water sector efficiency progress, ProEESA developed an outline for a “Big Data and Analytics Training Course for Water and Sanitation Professionals”, which proposal includes training on statistics, basic programming followed by specific water and sanitation data mining issues and modelings such as fraud detection, asset management and assertive pipe replacement, failure predictions amongst other cases. Data Analytics for decision making - Economic level of water losses in urban supply systems and pumping stations In early 2021, the Ministry of Regional Development published a data driven methodology and decision-making tool to calculate the economic level of real and apparent water losses. The material consists of guidelines with detailed formula explanations and an open-source script, and it is useful for goal setting in service operation, contracts and regulation. It also includes the data driven decision-making methodology to calculate the economic level of energy performance in pumping stations, which could help the service providers in assessing their pumping performance, making adjustments in operation, maintenance and replacements.

Data Analytics for decision making - Economic level of water losses in urban supply systems and pumping stations

In early 2021, the Ministry of Regional Development published a data driven methodology and decision-making tool to calculate the economic level of real and apparent water losses.  The material consists of guidelines with detailed formula explanations and an open-source script, and it is useful for goal setting in service operation, contracts and regulation. It also includes the data driven decision-making methodology to calculate the economic level of energy performance in pumping stations, which could help the service providers in assessing their pumping performance, making adjustments in operation, maintenance and replacements.

2020 Sanitation Sector Digital Diagnosis

Launched by the National Sanitation Secretariat of the Ministry of Regional Development in 2020, the Sanitation Sector Digital Diagnosis is a pioneering initiative in the country, which describes the situation of sanitation service providers in relation to the use of systemic digital tools in Brazil. It was based on a survey answered by more than 400 providers, whose service covers 150 million of the 211 million inhabitants of Brazil. The diagnosis analyses the use of digital management systems and digital tools, considering the size of providers and their depth of usage. Several impressions were documented and evidenced such as: (1) underground infrastructures are not registered enough to take advantage for the digital tools usage potential; (2) SCADA and Telemetry are the least used systems and those with the greatest potential for rapid gains in operational efficiency; (3) large companies are more digitalized than small ones and carry out more pilot and research projects; (4) smaller companies subcontract more digital services than large companies. The diagnosis was the base for the Digital Roadmap, and may be repeated periodically to observe the sector's evolution.

Digital Roadmap for the Sanitation Sector

The first Digital Roadmap for the sanitation sector was published in July 2021 by the Brazilian Ministry of Regional Development, which contains proposals to support the Brazilian sanitation sector in implementing and accelerating the adoption of digital systems in water supply and sanitation services. The roadmap presents four programs, which promote: the application of digital systems; the expansion and qualification of digital systems; digital innovation in sanitation services; and improving support conditions for digital transformation, targeting cross-cutting areas. The programs are divided into modules that can be modified according to the reflections and priorities of the stakeholders, addressing, for example, topics such as: GIS; SCADA; Telemetry; Cloud Technology; Internet of Things (IoT); Big Data & Analytics; Artificial Intelligence; Social Robotics; Virtual or Augmented Reality; Blockchain applications; Regulation and qualification of human resources; Information Security; Civil and Social Dialogue.